The decapitator: rubbish culture jamming?
I haven’t heard the phrase ‘culture jamming’ since Naomi Klein’s No Logo but there’s a fair bit of talk about some grousome appearances hitting the high streets of the LDN.
Targets seem to be large brands such as Vodaphone, Pimms and The Bee Movie. The latter is surprising given that it’s a movie targeted at children. Culture jamming can be humourous, intelligent and insightful but this is none of those things and doesn’t achieve much more than to boost the exposure of the brand itself. Here’s The Decapitator’s Flickr group where people are falling over themselves to gush about how incredibly ‘genius’ and ‘awesome’ it is. Culture jamming started in the mid-80s and doesn’t always involve outdoor media, it can be an event such as Buy Nothing Day. I’m not going to get myself into trouble by posting my favourites but feel free to check out this pool on Flickr. Another good place for culture jamming ephemera is AdBusters.